The first day and daring to change

Every week, I'll write you a letter. A letter about anything, really. My goal is just to make you think.
Then, I handpick 3 ideas and posts you'll love (and learn from).

It’s that time of year when parents let out of a sigh of relief. Well, except the kindergarten parents.

I experienced the first day feels of a kindergarten Mom second-hand this week. It was an emotional rollercoaster as she was half-laughing and half-crying. On the one hand, she was really proud because this is a big moment. “He’s going to school! No more preschool bill!” In the same breath, though, she kept saying, “but he’s growing up too fast.” She is right, you know. I still remember holding that chubby little baby.

Now that chubby little baby is a dude. And that little man, unlike his Mom, was stoked for school. He could barely speak he was so excited about his first day. Spiderman lunchbox packed and ready to go. Apparently, he also had some big feelings in the morning, but not about leaving Mom behind. It was about his outfit. #blueshoesforlife #stillontime #goMom

I feel like this dynamic mirrors a lot of how we all feel when we take on firsts later in life. The first day of a new job, the first day of a job search, the first… whatever.

Firsts are exciting… and really scary. That’s the worst part about beginnings when you don’t have the safety net of your Mom to pick you up from school: you experience both the childlike thrill and the mother’s fears all at the same. You look around and compare your life. Tell yourself you’re too _____ to try. Too old, too inexperienced, too far behind.

This is me telling your brain to shut up.

Take joy in your firsts. We don’t get a million opportunities to change our lives. People worry so much about failure, but I think you should worry about chances. We don’t get as many of those.

This isn’t some movie from the ‘90s where you’re 12 again or Groundhog day, where you get to live the same day until you get it right. The “right thing” is an uncontrollable variable, and you only get one chance at being whoever you’re going to be today.

Be great. You already are, ya know.

So, these posts I’m sharing this week? I think they’re pretty great too. The first is on how candidates read. If you write outreach emails, watch that video. Speaking of outreach emails, I’m also teaching a class on that this week. You should probably come by. Link for that class is down there, too. Finally, a post about learning from failure.

If you have a new-ish recruiter on your team who could use coaching on outreach emails, I am teaching a virtual class 9/4. In 2 hours, they’ll be more confident and savvy about getting candidate attention. Email me for a discount.